1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an interterminal connection structure constituting a terminal that is provided respectively to a detachable pair of members and which is electrically connected when such pair of members is installed.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a domestic telephone unit comes with a base unit and a plurality of cordless handsets. Since a cordless handset is able to perform wireless transmission and reception with the base unit, a telephone call may be made from any room in a general household. In other words, a base unit may be set up in a particular room in which a telephone line connection terminal is wired, and a cordless handset may be permanently installed in a desired room without requiring any wiring.
A cordless handset is equipped with a battery pack, and this battery pack may be installed in a battery charger included together with the cordless handset for recharging. A battery charger is structured from a main body and a plug cord to be connected to a domestic outlet, and the main body is provided with an installation unit for detachably retaining the cordless handset. Further, the battery charger also functions as a cradle, and will be the installation location of the cordless handset upon permanently installing such cordless handset in a desired room.
A terminal for connecting with the terminal on the cordless handset side is exposed from the installation unit, and, in a normal installation state, the mutual terminals become connected to enable recharging.
Conventionally, a terminal (usually two terminals) on the battery charger side is of a flat spring shape, and, for instance, one end of the flat spring is bent into an approximate L shape, and the apex thereof is made to be the contact point of the cordless handset and the terminal, and the other end is used to perform so-called cantilevered support. Moreover, the other end of the flat spring is electrically connected with the likes of a solder to a recharging circuit substrate built in the battery charger. When the cordless handset is installed to the installation unit in the foregoing state, the load of the cordless handset will fall on the flat spring, and the flat spring will elastically deform pursuant to this load. The restoration force of this elastic deformation will become the biasing force, increase the contact pressure with the terminal on the cordless handset side, and secure the electrical connection thereof.
Incidentally, a structure has been proposed for making flat plate terminals such as the foregoing flat springs contact each other in a mutually intersecting manner (c.f. Patent Document 1).
Nevertheless, with the terminal of the cordless handset and the terminal of the battery charger, even though the cordless handset is moved for installation in the installation unit, the terminals are almost constantly placed in the same location, and there are cases where the contact site will erode due to prolonged use.
Further, the terminal on the cordless handset side is positioned on the bottom face or back face of the cordless handset, and, by the user touching this terminal, perspiration of the user may adhere thereto, solidify, and cause precipitation. In some cases, erosion may also occur. When the contact area is the same as described above, the precipitated portion or eroded portion may hinder the conduction, and, in the worst-case scenario, recharging may not be possible.
Moreover, with the terminal structure employing a flat spring, although it is possible to reduce the unit price of components with mass production, when there is a design change in the spring load or the like, the flat spring itself must be newly replaced, and this must be newly manufactured from a metal mold.